Business Controller - EF Tours

The position is based in Zurich, Switzerland and reports directly to the Sr. VP of Operations and the VP of Finance.  

The successful candidate will play a critical role in EF’s international operations organization, and is a strategic finance business partner to the business unit’s VP of Operations to:

• Understand the tourism, travel and services industries and the macro economic factors affecting it in order to be a key stakeholder when defining strategic goals and planning for the future.
• Be an active member of the senior management team providing analysis and insight to leadership discussions and decision-making.
• Own operational and financial control, overseeing budgets and analysis for multiple product lines within one of EF’s largest divisions.
• Proactively seek and implement process improvement initiatives in areas of reporting as well as business planning.
• Ensure the right systems and controls are in place to run the business efficiently

Key responsibilities

• Budgeting and Forecasting: Responsibility over the operations overhead and direct cost budgets. Manage and coordinate quarterly and annual reviews of operations cost control, proposed investments and other special project initiatives with senior management. Partner with operations management on all major commercial decisions.
• Financial reporting: Responsible for management and financial reporting on a quarterly and annual basis, supporting the statutory close and external audit, owning forecasting, variance analysis, and tracking of industry trends.
• Data Analytics & Technology: Maintain custom database integrity and provide quality analytics to facilitate strategic decision-making. Support development of strategies for new and existing technologies to achieve efficiencies and productivity.
• Contracts & Negotiation: Support the development of negotiation strategies and tactics for negotiations with operations partners. Monitor compliance with EF’s internal controls while ensuring that business priorities and terms and conditions are compliant.
• Own Initiatives & Innovation: Seek new ways of further developing an industry-leading non-hierarchical organization where entrepreneurial spirit and ownership are our lifeblood. Our motto is: ‘’Staying small while growing big’’.

Requirements

• 5+ years of relevant accounting, business control, financial planning and forecasting experience.
• Bachelor’s Degree in finance, Accounting, Economics, or other relevant Business field.
• Language Skills: Required Fluency in English, professional working knowledge of German is a plus
• Candidate should thrive when working in a team environment with excellent collaboration and communication skills. Can balance the serious responsibility of this role with a sense of fun
• Self-starter with a positive can-do attitude, who can establish priorities and work independently.
• Strong analytical skills with ability to reason through various business scenarios, even in situations with uncertainty or imperfect information.
• Equally comfortable diving into the details as thinking of the big picture.
• Proficiency in Excel is required. SQL, QlikView and Power BI skills are considered a plus.

The successful candidate can look forward to international career opportunities in a fast growing, fun and innovative business that stays in the forefront any challenge it undertakes. We do things differently!

About EF Education First 

At EF we believe that the world is better when people try to understand one another. Since 1965, we have helped millions of people see new places, experience new cultures, and learn new things about the world and about themselves. Our culturally immersive education programs—focused on language, travel, cultural exchange, and academics—turn dreams into international opportunities.

When you join EF, you join a multicultural and diverse community working across more than 600 schools and offices in 50 countries, all with one shared mission of opening the world through education. Whoever you are, whatever you are passionate about—we welcome you and want you to bring that to work every day. EF is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and we are committed to inclusion and belonging across race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, caste, parental status, identity, experience and everything else that makes you unique.

Founded in Sweden in 1965, EF has school and offices around the world, including hubs in Boston, London, Mexico City, São Paulo, Shanghai, Stockholm, Zürich, and more. Learn more at https://ef.com.